Mike Morgan (running back)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tallassee, Alabama, U.S.
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| No. 29 | |||||||||
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| Position | Running back | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | January 19, 1956 Tallassee, Alabama, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 207 lb (94 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Lane Tech (Chicago, Illinois) | ||||||||
| College | Wisconsin | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1978: undrafted | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Michael Lee Morgan (born January 19, 1956) is an American attorney, former government official, and former National Football League (NFL) running back. He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers from 1974 to 1977 and later appeared with the Chicago Bears during the 1978 NFL season. [1][2] After his playing career, Morgan worked as a prosecutor in the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office[3] and went on to serve in several senior public-sector roles, including Commissioner of the Milwaukee Department of City Development,[3][4] Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, and Secretary of the Department of Administration as a senior deputy to Governor Jim Doyle.[4][3] In July 2010, he was appointed Senior Vice President for Administration and Fiscal Affairs for the University of Wisconsin System.[5] Morgan has also held private-sector positions, served on numerous civic and nonprofit boards,[3][6] and currently works as a management consultant in Milwaukee while chairing the board of the African American Leadership Alliance Milwaukee.[4]
Michael Lee Morgan was born on January 19, 1956, in Tallassee, Alabama.[2] After his parents separated, he moved with his mother to Chicago, where he attended Lane Tech High School;[2][7] there he transitioned from an initial interest in baseball to football, became a varsity player as a sophomore, and earned high school All-American honors.[7] Morgan attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison, earning a B.A. in Communication Arts in 1978, and later returned to UW to receive a Juris Doctor in 1985. [7]
Football
College
Morgan was a four-year letterman at Wisconsin (1974–1977) who played running back in 44 games. Season-by-season college statistics are as follows:[1]
- 1974: 11 games, 85 rushes for 461 yards (5.4 Y/A) and 8 rushing TDs; 4 receptions for 34 yards; 89 plays for 495 scrimmage yards; ranked on Big Ten leaderboards for rushing TDs and touchdowns from scrimmage.
- 1975: 11 games, 38 rushes for 184 yards (4.8 Y/A) and 1 rushing TD; 8 receptions for 155 yards and 1 receiving TD; 46 plays for 339 scrimmage yards.
- 1976: 11 games, 37 rushes for 231 yards (6.2 Y/A) and 1 rushing TD; 6 receptions for 84 yards; 43 plays for 315 scrimmage yards.
- 1977: 11 games, 124 rushes for 478 yards (3.9 Y/A) and 3 rushing TDs; 7 receptions for 48 yards; 131 plays for 526 scrimmage yards; placed on Big Ten leaderboard for plays from scrimmage.
Career totals (Wisconsin): 44 games, 284 carries for 1,354 rushing yards (4.8 Y/A), 13 rushing TDs; 25 receptions for 321 yards and 1 receiving TD; 309 plays for 1,675 yards from scrimmage and 14 total TDs. Morgan lettered each season from 1974 through 1977.[2][1]
Professional football career
Morgan signed with the Chicago Bears as a free agent in 1978. Pro Football Archives lists the following NFL roster/transaction activity: signed 5/22/1978 (Chicago), released 8/23/1978, re-signed 8/29/1978, released 10/4/1978, re-signed 12/28/1978; he was on the Bears’ 1978 roster and appeared in 5 NFL games that season. As a kickoff returner he recorded 5 returns for 110 yards (22.0 average, long 24).[2]
In 1979 he had additional transaction activity: signed with Chicago in 1979 (entry appears), later signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1979 but suffered a knee injury on the first day of training camp and was released/injured on August 20, 1979, effectively ending his professional playing career.[2][7]
